Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia
by Drag0n-0f-Shu
Summary: Grand Gaia is in danger from Maxwell, but hope is not lost. Lucius has chosen six different heroes to carry on the will of the Six Heroes of Grand Gaia. Will they stand together as one in truimph? Or will the power of the gods overwhelm Grand Gaia in an era of darkness? (Will contain some elements from Digimon Frontier. Characters From KH, BE, ACMI, TOV, and Bleach.)
1. The Summoning of a Hero

Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia

"Oh man, oh man, I gotta hurry!" A young boy said while running down to the train station.

This boy was about your average teenager with average height and was quite skinny. He had spiky brown hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a black shirt that had red and yellow linings all over with what looked like silver pads on his shoulders and wore black fingerless gloves with red and yellow linings all over. He also wore a pair of long black shorts with red and yellow linings and had about two red sags on each side. He also wore a pair of yellow shoes that had black linings all over. His name was Sora, and right now he was in Twilight Town while he was skateboarding down to the train terminal in a hurry.

"_Man this is just great. Sometimes I wonder how I came rushing down here in the first place." _Sora thought_._

_25 minutes ago…_

Sora was walking around in the grand canyon of Radiant Garden, together with two of his most faithful companion. The first was a short duck who despite was lacking strength made up for it with magic. His name was Donald. The second was a tall dog-like looking creature who had no magic abilities, but had strength with his trusty shield; his name was Goofy, due to his "odd" appearance. The three of them were just taking a stroll down the canyon after taking care of an incident that included going through a world inside a computer.

"Ah, it's great to know that Tron is still alive, right guys?" Sora asked.

"Yep, who would've thought he would take over the system after we took out that MCP thingy or whatever." Goofy said in response.

"And who would've thought that thanks to him, Hollow Bastion found its real name again." Donald said.

"Yeah, all in a day's work for the heroes right?" Sora asked in which Donald and Goofy nodded in response.

However as they were walking, Sora stopped for a moment and turned around. It was strange, but for some reason he felt an ominous presence.

Donald took notice of this and asked, "What's wrong Sora?"

Sora, who was still looking the other way, replied and asked, "Did you guys feel something?"

Donald and Goofy were confused by what the young boy was asking them. They thought he was crazy as he usually was. However, the two of them have known Sora for a long time, and they know he would never lie to them. But still, they were concerned that the aftermath of Space Paranoids might have caused Sora to go on edge. After all, getting deleted and killed were all the same in a manner.

"We didn't see anything." Goofy said.

"Sure you're not imaging it?" Donald asked.

Sora couldn't help but look back at a while. However, for a few minutes he thought it was nothing and decided to brush it off.

"Sorry you guys, I thought I-"

However, to his shook, something happened as he turned around. He saw Donald and Goofy, but for some reason, they weren't moving. It wasn't because they were waiting for him, but it was something else. He looked around his area, and he noticed the clouds weren't moving as well. It was strange; everything in his surroundings was frozen as if the foundations of time had halted. He ran to his friends to see if they were alright. However, a mysterious light shone towards him. The light grew very intense, and continued to shine as Sora tried to protect himself from the light. Soon, the light died down. Sora was then caught in what looked a pitch black void. The light materialized again, only this time, it was smaller. Sora was curious as to what the light was or why it summoned him here. And then, the light began to speak to him

"_Hero, I beckon you to come forth."_

Sora was confused as to what the light was talking about, but there was no doubt that the light was speaking to him. He creept up slowly while ensuring to keep his guard up.

"_Who…are you?"_

"_My name is Lucius…and I apologize for the inconvenience, but I need your help."_

"_My help? What's wrong?"_

"_I would explain, but I don't have much time. Soon, the Maxwell and his foul creations will return. And right now, you are the sixth and final person who the Six Heroes have chosen to save Grand Gaia."_

"_Six Heroes? Grand Gaia? I don't understand, what are you-"_

"_There's no time to explain. The train will soon leave at 5:30 and the other five have already assembled waiting for you. These five just like you were chosen by the six heroes to defend Grand Gaia and all of the worlds from Maxwell."_

"_I have no idea what's going on. But… if something bad is happening, then you just called the right guy for the job!"_

"_Thank you. Before you go, I want you take this."_

In front of Sora, a strange bright red crystal in the shape of a burning flame materialized in front of Sora. Sora held out his hand as the crystal landed softly in his hand.

"_Keep that with you, for you will soon learn the purpose of the crystal soon enough. Now you must head to the train terminal in Twilight Town. Don't worry, I'll use my magic to transport you there."_

"_Wait! What about Donald and Goofy?"_

"_I am sorry, but this is a journey for the successors of the Six Heroes only. So I'm afraid your friends can't come with you."_

"_Oh, I see…"_

"_Don't worry; I understand that like the others you are also facing a difficult threat to your own world as well, key bearer. So I will make sure to cover up your absence and make sure that your enemies will not follow."_

"_Thanks, that's really-hey wait a minute, how do you know about the Keyblade and me."_

However, Lucius began to shine even brighter, and the void was disappearing.

"_I am sending you to Twilight Town right now. Good luck on your journey Sora, and may the powers of the six elements protect you and your newfound comrades."_

And in an instant, Sora was transported in the sandlot of Twilight Town.

_Minutes later…_

After Sora and Lucius's brief meeting, the latter found himself transported to Twilight Town. He was amazed by how the strange entity managed to bring him here in such a short notice. However, it seems he would have a lot of explaining to do to Donald and Goofy. However, now wasn't the time to worry. Lucius and whatever world he came from were in danger, and decided best to follow his heart and believe in what Lucius said.

"Guess I can explain to Donald and Goofy later, but I got more important things to worry about," Sora said. "Okay Lucius said that a train that's waiting for me will be heading out at 5:30. I wonder what time it is now."

Sora then remembered about the huge clock tower that's seen everywhere. Using his head, he decided to take a look, and unfortunately, luck was not on his side. The train ride would start at 5:30 and for him, it was 5:25.

"5:25?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? EITHER IT TOOK TWENTY FIVE MINUTES TO HELP OUT TRON OR LUCIUS FAST FORWARDED TIME SOMEHOW! I GOTTA HURRY!"

Sora decided to make a dash for the train; or rather he took a "board" for the train. Remembering the area very well, Sora remembered there was always a skateboard near the area of the sandlot. Why a board was left there was unknown, but Sora didn't care for the moment and decided to roll with it. He got on the board a started to skate as fast as he possibly could. And while he was skating, he saw three familiar faces.

One of them was a kid with messy blonde hair. He had brown eyes and was wearing a black shirt with a cross bones design on it. He wore a camouflage vest and a pair of camouflage pants along with a pair of camouflage shoes with the tip being white.

The second one was a large kid with a messy brown top. He wore what looked like a red jersey with a cross bones design with a white shirt on the inside. He also had brown eyes and wore a white headband with blue linings. He also sported a pair of blue saggy pants and wore a pair of blue and white sneakers.

The third was a girl with brown hair. She had green eyes and wore an orange tank top that had a floral design with a pair of Khaki capri pants. She also wore a pair of orange socks with a pair of orange and white shoes.

These three were Hayner, Pence, and Olette. These three were residents of Twilight Town, and they were good friends with Sora. Had Sora not been in a rush, he would have stopped to say high. However, time was off the essence, and Sora knew he had no time to waste. He skateboarded so fast, he almost ran over Pence, who was carrying bags for Olette along with Hayner. The three were confused as to what they just saw, until they looked the other way.

"Sorry guys, I'm in a hurry!"

The three of them were confused as to who it was, but after a brief glance, the three realized it was Sora who skateboarded past theme.

Pence was still startled and said, "Hey guys…was that…Sora just now."

And in response, the two of them nodded in response.

_Meanwhile with Sora…_

"Oh man, Oh man, I gotta hury!"

About two minutes were left with Sora. He unfortunately wasted most of his time going through a crowd that was watching a sudden street performance. And he wasted even more time while trying to avoid getting crushed by a wagon filled with junk. Surely fate was cruel to him at the moment.

"_Man, this is just great. Sometimes I wonder how I came rushing down here in the first place."_

As Sora was near the terminal station, he looked at the clock once again. Now the clock had moved up to 5:29.

"Awww, c'mon! What the heck does time have against me anyway?"

Sora soon found himself near the terminal station. He dropped the skateboard and attempted to make a run for it. He ran towards the entrance and luckily, the train hadn't left yet. The young hero could finally breathe easy. However, just as he was catching his breath, he looked to see that he had failed to realize something.

"Uh, wait a minute, which train is mine?"

And just as he said that, a blue train was about to leave the terminal. It was probably without a doubt the train Lucius told him to get on.

"C'mon, that's just not fair!"

Realizing he had no time to lose, he attempted to dash for the train and hopefully jump aboard. The train would no doubt reach the gate, and it would be at the end of that. Sora ran with all his might, and just as he made the final step. Just as the train was leaving the gate, Sora used all he could and made a final leap towards the train. Luckily, fate was on his side.

With his lucky gamble pulled off, Sora successfully managed to land at the back of the train. At last the young spiky-haired hero could rest easy. Deciding to take a rest after his "Pandamonic" express, he went immediately inside and hope he get an easy rest. He was also curious as to who these other five heroes were. As he entered inside, the interior of the trains was quite lively. The walls were quite solid, and the seats looked quite comfy. The windows were quite clear, and it looked like no one was in this part of the train. Sora thought the others were in the other parts of the train, so he decided to head forward. That was, until a familiar voice came to him.

"Bout time, didn't expect to see you here."

Sora turned around to see who it was, and he was in for quite a surprise. It was a tall young man who had about an average build to him and had spiky blonde hair. He wore what looked like a mercenary attire. He wore about a black shirt with that had no sleeves on his right arm, and was covered by a sleeve on his left with a black shoulder pad. He wore a pair of black pants with black boots and a black cloth covering his lower half. Strung to his back was a large object that was covered in bandages. His shirt held an emblem that represented Fenrir.

This man was known as Cloud Strife, and he is a friend and ally of Sora's

"Cloud…you too?"

**And that's where I'll leave it for now. I'm still writing Fairy Tail: Legend of Guan Suo, but this was a story I really wanted to write. This story will contain elements from Digimon Frontier, such as spirits and evolutions. As for the characters, two are from Kingdom Hearts, three from a different anime series, and one from a video game. You already meet two, the other four you'll have to meet next time. Also this story takes place in a game known as Brave Frontier.**

**Sora meets with his friend Cloud, but who are the other four that were summoned by Lucius? And what's this about Grand Gaia and Six Heroes? Find out next time on Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia.**

**Thank You and good-bye.**


	2. Welcome To The New Frontier

Brave Frontier: The Heroes of Grand Gaia

A young boy by the name of Sora was summoned by an entity that was known as Lucius after averting a disaster on another world. Lucius had beckoned Sora to go to a world known as Grand Gaia, where he claimed the world to be in danger. Following his heart, Sora accepted the offer, while Lucius granted him a red flame-shaped crystal. He sent Sora to Twilight Town, where he had told the latter to head to the train terminal where a train with five others was waiting for him. Sora made a break for time trying to reach the train in time. With luck, he managed to get on board. And suddenly, the voice of a familiar friend came out of nowhere.

"Bout time, didn't expect to see you here."

"Cloud…you too?"

The young SOLDIER nodded while approaching Sora. Sora never thought to see one of his friends here. Cloud would usually do things on his own. This time however, it seems some circumstances might have change. There could only be one reason Cloud was here.

Cloud had just walked up in front of Sora. The two of them stared at each other for a while, but Sora decided to break the silence.

"Cloud, are you here for the same reason I am?"

And as in response, Cloud pulled something out of his pockets. It was a white crystal that had quite a shine to it. It was in the shape of an intricate star. He held it out just long enough for Sora to see.

"Whoa, so you were summoned by Lucius too?"

Cloud nodded his head and said, "Yeah, he told me something about a world to be swallowed in darkness. I thought it could be something related to Sephiroth, so I decided to tag in. Don't worry though; I'm also here to save Grand Gaia as well."

"So do you know what's going on here?" Sora asked.

"No. The only things I know about are what Lucius told me about. Not to mention you and I are going to be paired up with four others."

"Do you know where those four are?"

Cloud pointed a finger to the door in front and said, "About the next cart over."

Sora turned around to see the door in front of him. He then turned to Cloud and asked, "So…have you meet the others yet?"

Cloud just shook his head and said, "No, I just wanted to wait and see who the last guy was. I was the first on this train, so I decided to stay here on the back until all of us were here."

Sora then chuckled a bit and raised his arms. He said to Cloud, "heheh, still you I guess. Well I guess since you and I are here, we should go meet the others."

"Yeah, I guess so."

And with that Sora and Cloud walked to the next cart over.

_Second cart of the train…_

Just as Sora and Cloud entered the next cart, they saw four people. Each of them with the looks that spell out that they all come from different worlds. The four people in the train noticed Sora and Cloud and gave them a stare.

The first person was a teenage boy with brown eyes and spiky orange hair. He wore a plain white shirt with an eagle-winged necklace. He wore a pair of blue jeans and had a pair of yellow and white sneakers. He had what looked like a badge strapped to his left pocket like a wallet chain

The second person was a boy who had spiky black hair and had somewhat hazel eyes. He wore an open black jacket with an orange shirt underneath. He also had a pair of black pants and had a pair of black and white sports shoes.

The third person was a boy with messy black hair and blue eyes. He wore what looked a like a casual school attire. He had a black jacket with a white shirt underneath without the neck tie. He also had a pair of black pants and academy shoes. What made him different from the others was the fact he had pointy ears. Sora thought he was some kind of cosplayer while Cloud cared less about his appearance. He had something slung to his back, but was covered so no one could see what it was.

The fourth person was a girl with pink hair and blue eyes. She wore what looked like some kind of magician's attire. It was about a white mage suit that had gold linings with what looked like a pink dress underneath. She had what looked like black pants and wore a pair of white boots with gold linings and a pair of white gloves.

The four of them stared at Sora and Cloud for quite a while. Then the girl with the pink hair stood up and ran up to them enthusiastically.

"Wow, and here I thought we were the only ones on this train," the girl said with enthusiasm. She then held her hand out to both of them and asked, "What are your names?"

Sora couldn't help but rub the back of his head. "Haha, well my name is Sora. And it's a pleasure to meet you miss…"

"My name is Estellise Sidos Heurassein. But you can Estelle for short; it's much easier that way." The girl called Estelle said.

"Nice to meet you." Sora said with a smile as he shook Estelle's hand.

Estelle then turned to Cloud and asked, "And what's your name good sir?"

Cloud was just staring at the girl straight in the eye. Estelle felt an uncomforting feeling from him. She thought it best to drop the subject, but then he spoke.

"Cloud"

"Huh?" Estelle asked.

"My name. It's Cloud, Cloud Strife."

Estelle then went back to being very bright. She went to Cloud to shake his hand and said to him, "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Strife, I'm Estelle."

Cloud gratefully shook her hand and replied to her, "It's nice to meet you, and just Cloud will be fine."

Estelle smiled happily at the two of them. "It's really nice to know that you guys don't look half as scary as the others."

The boy with the messy hair popped a vein when she said that. He then told her, "Hey Estelle, you do realize we're here y'know."

The boy with the dark spiky hair could only sigh and say, "Give it up Rin. She may be friendly, but I doubt she'll ever stop calling us delinquents. Makes me wonder what people like me did to be called emo."

The boy with messy hair, whose name was Rin, retorted back at the boy with the spiky hair and said, "Hey, I told you these ears are fake alright? And who are you calling an emo Toma? The only emo here is Ichigo and his orange-"

The orange haired boy known as Ichigo threw a can at Rin before he could finish that sentence.

Frustrated, Rin yelled at Ichigo, "Hey, what the hell was that for Ichi!?"

"Because that's what you get for calling people emo," Ichigo said. He then looked at him and said, "Besides, if I'm emo, does that mean Estelle is an emo too?"

Rin was taken aback by this and said, "Hey, I wasn't talking about Estelle, alright?"

Toma couldn't help but laugh and said to him, "Wow Rin, you really are charming aren't ya?"

Rin just folded his arms and quietly whispered, "Shut up spikey."

"I'm sorry; I just barely meet these guys. But they're friendly, really!" Estelle said while sweat dropping.

Sora was just scratching his head and laughing normally, while Cloud just stood there with his usual face.

"Must be nice, having a bunch of buffoons for delinquents." Cloud said.

"WE AREN'T DELINQUENTS AND WE ARENT A BUNCH OF BUFFONS EITHER!" the three of them shouted.

Sora was taken aback, while Estelle was quite scared. As for Cloud, he still kept his cool and calm demeanor. He just silently walked to the end of the cart near the door. There, he pushed himself against the wall while on his back. He simply folded his arms while crossing his legs. He stood there, as calm as the ocean waves and white clouds. The others were quite puzzled at his sudden demeanor, but he paid no mind to what they were thinking.

"You guys can relax. All I'm saying is that the three of you are loud is all." Cloud said.

The others were even more puzzled as to who he was. Ichigo just gave off a scowl. Rin was just looking at him thinking how cool he was. Toma thought he was a little weird and made him wonder what got him in life. As for Estelle she was quite confused as to Cloud's personality.

Estelle turned to Sora and asked, "Um…is he always like this?"

Sora laughed nervously and said, "Sorry about that. Cloud's always been like this. He's more of the loner type if you get what I mean."

"Oh, I see. Are you guy's friends?"

"Yeah, you can say that."

"Wow, that's amazing. You guys actually know each other while the rest of us just meet."

Sora smiled for a bit. He then turned to the other three and asked, "So what are your names?"

"I'm Rin Okumura, it's a pleasure to meet you man!"

"I'm Toma Kamijou, just your average students living an average life."

"And I'm Ichigo Kurosaki; I'm honored to meet you. Oh and no, my name doesn't mean strawberry, it just looks that way is all."

"_I wasn't even asking about your name,"_ Sora thought. "Well my name is Sora. And my friend who you guys just meet is Cloud."

"Cloud? Who names their kid after something up in the sky?" Ichigo asked?

"It's better than being called strawberry for the rest of your life." Cloud said which earned a scowl from Ichigo.

Rin couldn't help but laugh while Toma had more of a casual expression.

"Well, I think Cloud is a nice name." Estelle said.

After a while Sora decided to sit next to Toma and Rin, while Estelle sat right by Ichigo. As for Cloud, he still remained a distance from everybody else. The others four were quite puzzled by Clouds odd behavior.

"Haha, sorry about that guys. It's like I said earlier, Cloud is usually the loner type, but he gets along well with everybody." Sora said.

"Yeah, well I wish he would do something about that attitude of his." Ichigo said while looking out the window.

"Hey, you have to admit, he looks really cool. And did you see that big thing he's got wrapped in bandages? Man dudes like that are the coolest." Rin said with praise for Cloud.

Toma decided to skip the subject on Cloud and asked Sora, "So, I take it you're here for the same reasons we are?"

"You mean about Maxwell and Grand Gaia?" Sora asked.

"Yep, that in a nutshell." Toma said.

"Then I guess he gave you guys something like this right?" Sora asked as he was pulling out his crystal.

He showed his crystal to the others just for confirmation. His red flame-like crystal shone as brightly just as any crimson flame. The others were in awe of his crystal. Surely, if he and Cloud had one, then Lucius must have given the other four some type of crystal as well.

"Wow that's so cool! I've got one too!" Rin said as he was pulling his out.

"Yeah me too." Toma said while pulling his crystal out. Estelle and Ichigo did the same as well.

All four of them pulled theirs out at the same time. Rin was the first one to show his crystal. His crystal was a shade-shape like crystal that had a bright purple tone despite it being dark. Toma's was in the shape of a perfect leaf, and it shined with a bright green light that shined as bright as nature. Estelle's crystal was in the shape of water drop and it shined just as bright with a blue light just as the water glistening in sunlight. As for Ichigo's, his crystal was in the shape of a lightning bolt. It flared with a very bright yellow tone and shone very bright as the roaring thunder. Sora was amazed by the different type of crystals each possess.

"Wow, so you guys have a crystal based on a different element." Sora said while the others nodded in confirmation.

Meanwhile, Estelle looked at Cloud and asked him, "Where's your crystal Cloud?"

And as if on cue, Cloud held out his bright star-like crystal that shone as the stars in the heavens.

"Man, that's a really bright crystal." Ichigo remarked.

Sora decided to cut in and say, "Well, now that introductions are out of the way, I guess we're officially a team now."

The rest nodded their heads in response. It may have seemed too sudden, but there was no doubt in Lucius's choice of heroes. It seems that these six were the ones destined to save Grand Gaia. However, the only question was what these crystals were for. And another thing was what the purpose of these crystals are for. And more importantly, what was the kind of threat that caused Lucius to summon these uncommon heroes.

Estelle decided to say something, "So guys… do you have any idea as to where we're going?"

However, just as the others were about to say something, the train decided black out all of a sudden. This caused the six of them to be startled. Each of them was just as much as confused as the other as to what was going on. However, judging by their situation, things were not looking good.

"Gah, what the hell is going on here?" Rin asked in frustration.

However, Cloud and Sora looked at their crystals. For some reason the crystal were glowing even brighter than they were before. The other's crystals were shining as bright as well. In Sora and Clouds experience, it couldn't be such a good sign.

"EVERYBODY, BRACE YOURSELVES!" Cloud warned.

The train also took some sort of a bumpy ride, and everybody soon found themselves crashing to the floor. As Sora lay on his backside on the floor, something strange happened. Just as the train was riding a bit rougher, an image of a spiky red-haired warrior appeared over Sora's body. As Sora was opening his eyes, he looked at the window and realized that the image was in the place of his reflection. He looked at his hands and realized the ghost or silhouette of some warrior was all over him. And it just wasn't him as well.

Sora looked at the others and noticed that their bodies were covered in the silhouette of some warrior. Cloud was covered by the silhouette image of a warrior dressed in white with somewhat blond hair and a pigtail tied back. Toma was covered by the silhouette image of a warrior who had spiky green hair warrior who was dressed in green. Rin was covered by the silhouette of what looked like a knight dressed in heavy black armor. Estelle too was covered by a silhouette of a warrior. A maiden that wore an elegant blue battle attire as well as long blue hair with a blue rose on her hairband. And Ichigo was covered by the silhouette of a wild swordsman dressed with but a cloth across his body, and wore a black headband with long, wild yellow hair.

"_What's going on here?" _Sora asked.

However, it was all too late, and eventually the six heroes all blacked out.

_Few minutes later…_

The train had finally stopped rumbling. At last the ride was coming to a steady pace again. Our heroes however were still knocked out. But in a few seconds, Sora managed to get himself back up once again. He was soon followed by Toma and Cloud. And then Estelle started to get back up as well. Ichigo and Rin soon followed.

"Ugh, is everybody okay?" Sora asked while rubbing his head.

"Yeah, I think we're all good here on this end," Cloud said. He then turned to Estelle and asked, "How are you holding up?"

"I think I'll be good. It wasn't that bad really," Estelle said. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, I think the three of us will live." Ichigo said while Toma nodded in response.

As for Rin, he angrily got up and headed towards the front of the train.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"What does it look like? I'm gonna give that damn conductor a friggin peace of mind," Rin said angrily. "Man seriously! Given us one hell of a scare. Well he's gonna get what's coming to him. I'm gonna mess him up so badly he'll be singing Magical Kyoko for a freaking week!"

As Rin went to the conductor, the others couldn't help but feel bad for Rin. Sora and Estelle were just laughing nervously, while Toma and Ichigo sighed with disdain for Rin's behavior. Cloud meanwhile just shook his head feeling bad for any people who had to look after him.

"Man, I feel bad for the goat face that had to look after him." Ichigo said.

"Makes me wonder how does in school, or if he even goes to school at all." Toma said.

"Hey, let's all be nice to him alright?" Estelle said.

Meanwhile, Sora was talking to Cloud regarding what happened earlier.

"Cloud, did you feel that?" Sora asked not knowing how to describe the feeling from earlier.

Cloud nodded in response and said, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the others felt it too. I think it might have something to do with the crystals."

Just as Sora was going to say something, a yelling could be heard from the front of the train. It was Rin, and it seemed as if something was wrong. Sora, Cloud, and Ichigo went to check up on him. They made it to the front of the train. There, they found Rin, who was frozen in a state of shock.

"Hey Rin, what the hell's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"Th-th-the driver…" Rin stuttered.

"What about the-"

Before Ichigo could say anything else, Cloud decided to go to the operator's seat, and he was quite surprised.

"There's…no driver."

"What?" Sora and Ichigo said in unison.

Cloud turned the seat, and Sora and Ichigo were in for a surprise. There was no driver in the operator seat. As a matter of fact, the seat and controls looked as if they were never touched at all. This revelation revealed one thing; there was never an operator on the train to begin with. The train could have been in auto pilot, but Cloud deduced that this train had no function whatsoever. So the only question was how the train moved by itself

"No way, a self-moving train? How does that work?" Rin asked in confusion.

Cloud turned to Sora to see if he had answers, but Sora paid attention to the outside.

Sora saw the blue scenery and noted something suspicious. For an ordinary person, one might believe that seeing something was nothing out of the ordinary. As for Sora, he knew there was more than just seeing one thing. Sure there was blue, but that was all he could see. Thinking it strange, he decided to open the operator's door and look at the outside.

"Hey Sora are you crazy?" Ichigo asked.

Sora paid no mind and proceeded to open the door, and to his surprise, his answers were clear. It was no wonder that the only thing he saw was blue; it was because he saw the sky. And the odd thing was that the sky was all he could see. Why was simple: the train was traveling in the middle of the sky.

Cloud, Rin, and Ichigo were shocked when all they could see was the sky alone. One could tell that their expression were beyond belief.

"HOLY FREAKING HELL! WE'RE ON A FLOATING TRAIN?!" Rin shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL!? WHAT KIND OF EXPRESS LINE IS THIS?" Ichigo asked with his heart pounding.

Cloud went to see the outside with Sora, and he too was shocked beyond belief.

"Sora what's going on?" Cloud asked as he stuck himself out.

However Sora was looking ahead and said, "Cloud…look"

Cloud looked at the direction that Sora was facing, and he was surprised at what he saw.

"What-"

In front of the train, there lied a heavy floating isle of land that was held in the air. The isle was so big, the only explanation was that it was like a whole world, but it was all compacted in an isle that looked small in a sense of perspective. No, this isle was as big as the world itself. The land was packed with trees and forests with the grass so bright. There were volcanoes that could be seen. Each active and ready to blow and a moment's notice. The isle was also surrounded by glistening waters that matched the waters in Atlantica and put Diagra Falls to shame. The sun was ever so shining. What was more spectacular was that many major cities could be seen. One city looked like it was on fire, while the other looked like it was the lost city of Atlantis. There were other major cities and capitals as well. It was beyond belief. Everything so big compacted into something so small. The sight was just so spectacular.

Cloud and Sora were at a loss for words. None could describe the feeling that they felt. Out of all the worlds Sora visited in his lifetime, this had to be the most beautiful place he had ever seen.

"Hey, what do you guys see out there?" Ichigo asked.

"C'mon you guys, I wanna take a look too." Rin whined.

"Sora…could this be-"

"Yeah, I think there's no doubt about it Cloud."

"What, what is it?" Rin asked.

Sora was still looking at the island with amazement. He then said to Rin and Ichigo, "Guys, we've reached the end of our journey."

"Huh?" was all that the both could say.

"Get ready guys. Next stop: Grand Gaia."

**Wow, Sora and the gang have arrived to Grand Gaia, and what a site it is! But what kind of trouble will the six face together? And how will their beginning turn out? Find out next time on Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia.**

**Thank you and good-bye.**


	3. The Burning Fencer of Agni

Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia

Not too long ago, Sora meets with his old friend Cloud. A while back, Sora was summoned by an entity by the name of Lucius. Lucius had recruited Sora for a task in saving Grand Gaia, the world where Lucius came, and with the help of five others making it a total of six. Lucius then gave Sora a red fire-shaped crystal and transported him to Twilight Town and told him to go to the train station where a train with the other five was waiting for him. Making it in the neck of time, Sora came aboard and was surprised to see his old friend Cloud, who was also summoned by Lucius and possessed some kind of elemental crystal like Sora's. Sora also got a chance to meet with the other four chosen: Toma Kamijou, Rin Okumura, Ichigo Kurosaki, and Estelle. The six of the got along well until the train crashed for a few minutes. Things were better however, and while Sora, Cloud, Rin, and Ichigo went to check things, things seemed to have gotten a whole lot grander. The six finally arrived at Grand Gaia, but what mischiefs will await them?

"Sora…could this be-"

"Yeah, I think there's no doubt about it Cloud."

"What, what is it?" Rin asked.

Sora was still looking at the island with amazement. He then said to Rin and Ichigo, "Guys, we've reached the end of our journey."

"Huh?" was all that the both could say.

"Get ready guys. Next stop: Grand Gaia."

Meanwhile, Estelle was urging Toma to look out the windows with her. They looked out the windows with Estelle looking outside with joy while Toma had a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"What the heck! Planes are one thing, but flying trains are just crazy!"

"Toma, look!" Estelle said with enthusiasm.

Toma looked to see what Estelle was seeing and he too was in for a surprise. He looked at the Atlas-sized isle and confirmed it to be Grand Gaia. He had to admit, Grand Gaia was indead "Grand". This would put any legendary city such as Atlantis to shame. Toma continued to stare at the floating isle with amazement, while Estelle looked at Grand Gaia as if it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her entire life.

"Wow…doesn't that look amazing Toma?" Estelle asked with amazement.

"Hell yeah, no doubt about it that this has to be Grand Gaia," Toma said with amazement. "Who would've thought that Grand Gaia could be so…grand?"

Meanwhile, Sora along with Cloud, Rin, and Ichigo had just come back from the operators room.

"Hey guys, did you just see Grand Gaia just now?" Rin asked.

Estelle nodded her head and said, "Of course! It's just so amazing!"

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Toma said.

"Don't get carried away guys." Cloud said.

The others were looking at him with a confused look. Did he not like the look of Grand Gaia? Did he think the atmosphere was too lively here? No, that had nothing to do with it. The others may not know what Cloud was thinking, but Sora knew too well what the young man was about to say.

"Listen, I know you all are excited, and I have to admit the site is pretty neat. But let's remember the reason we're all here," Cloud said. He pulled out his white crystal and said to the others, "Lucius wouldn't have chosen us here if we were nothing but gawky sightseers. I know it's important to have fun, but let's remember to save the world too, alright?"

The others couldn't help but laugh nervously at what Cloud said. Estelle was looking down at the floor with an embarrassment. Toma and Rin on the otherhand were just looking away trying to look like they were doing what Cloud just said. Ichigo just had a casual face while Sora just laughed nervously.

"Clouds right you guys. Let's just try to not get carried away." Sora suggested to which the others nodded their heads.

However, the train was soon put to an immediate stop, and Sora and the others could just barely feel the sudden stop the motion. No doubt about it, they have finally arrived at their destination.

"Train stopping only means one thing," Sora said to which the others understood to what he meant.

_A few minutes later…_

Just after the train had reached the intended destination, Sora and the others got out of the train. They were amazed at the location that the train had brought them upon.

The six of them found themselves near a very large area. An empire or at least the ruins of an old empire. In front of them was about old buildings withered and crumbled to dust, yet the foundations laid very strong indeed. The roads were long and the streets were empty. The towns were all but withered as well, but there was something quite peculiar about this place as well. Everywhere, torches could be seen, and the streets would actually light up as if they were on fire. And to top it all, the ruins of ancient castle could be seen, and a gigantic torch could be seen still lit. It seems that this town was powered by the foundations of fire, and that torch was what gave this empire its power.

"Damn, this place looks like it's literally on fire here." Ichigo said.

"Wow, a burning city of fire! This place looks very warm indeed." Estelle said.

"Yeah if you're a fan of getting burned. Just look at this place, you wonder how on earth the people that lived here before managed to survive." Rin said.

However, Sora decided to take a step forward. He took a feel for the ground to see if anything bad could happen. And to his surprise, he felt fine.

He then turned to the others with a smile and said, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm curious to see this whole place."

He then ran towards the streets to make his way towards the castle. The others, save Cloud, tried to tell him to not run off on his own, but he seemed at a way's distance now.

Ichigo could only sigh and say, "Is he always like this?"

The others couldn't tell, but Cloud decided to follow Sora then wait around.

"Hey Cloud, where are you going?" Toma asked.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm following him."

"Yesh, didn't he tell us not to do anything reckless?" Toma asked.

However to his surprise, the others began to go with Cloud while Toma was left in the dust.

"Hey guys! Wait for me will ya?" Toma said frantically while catching up to his newfound friends.

_Moments later…_

The others barely managed to catch up to Sora. As they were walking, they were looking at the old crumbled buildings that lay ruined in the area. The others could only imagine what this empire had been before ending up in such ruins. It must have been a bright place once. Just looking at the surroundings could tell you that the people who had once lived here must have been a thriving country. It was amazing how everything in this town was powered by the element of fire. They could only imagine how happy people were back in this empire. What could have happened to have caused such a prosperous place to crumble?

"This town must have been thriving once. I wonder what could have happened." Estelle wondered while walking with the others.

"My only guess is that it has something to do with that Maxwell guy that Lucius told us about." Cloud suggested.

Estelle gasped and asked, "Do you think that Maxwell could have destroyed this town?" Estelle asked to which Cloud nodded as a yes.

"Damn, killing people and destroying their homes. I could only imagine the families that had to suffer. It makes me sick thinking how this Maxwell guys went so as far as to kill everybody." Rin said in anger.

"Well that's the reason we're here. Just remember it's our job to take on Maxwell and anyone helping him out." Sora said with conviction.

"So Sora, do you have any idea where we're going?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep."

"Wait, what?"

Sora then looked back at Ichigo and said, "It's just a hunch, but I think we may be able to find something if we head to that castle."

Estelle was confused, so she asked Sora, "I don't get it. What's at the castle?"

"You notice that giant torch on top of the tower? It's just a feeling, but I think we may be able to find out more about the crystals purpose if we head there."

"And we should learn about the crystals because…"

"Lucius gave it to us to fight Maxwell, right? We just gotta find out how these crystals can help us fight against him."

"Wow, it makes sense when you put it that way."

The others continued to walk upon the narrow road. However, Cloud stopped and looked back for a moment. He felt an uneasy air that stirred up and he didn't like it one bit.

Estelle noticed Clouds behavior. She stopped for a bit and asked, "Cloud, is something wrong?"

Cloud wouldn't respond however. It wasn't because he wasn't listening, but it was because of this ominous feeling that wouldn't go away. Estelle was worried for Cloud's being, but Cloud kept looking out in the distance. However, he soon decided it was pointless and decided to continue walking.

"Sorry, it's nothing." Cloud said.

Estelle was worried for a bit, but she decided to disregard it and continued to walk up the path.

_Somewhere hidden away…_

"_The blonde-haired has quite the senses on him."_

Somewhere in a dark place, an orb was in the middle of an empty room. That's all it was, pitch black with nothing or something. However there was a presence in the room. It had malice intent, and it was the definition of darkness. And the orb in the middle was used to view the world from the shadows. The ominous presence was using this orb to view the six heroes who were traveling.

The ominious presence looked at them with amusement.

"_Hmph, so Lucius, these are the people who you chose to carry on the will of the original six. The Six Heroes that sacrificed their lives to defeat us have you? I must say you have interesting tastes."_

Ominous presence continued to look at the heroes and commented on each of them.

"_I have to say, despite his carefree attitude; the brown haired boy has the same burning will as Vargas. The one in black is a bit different from Atro, personalities differ, but their skill in the sword is the same. The woman is a bit too nice unlike Selena. Also, the boy with the spiky hair is a bit dimwitted unlike Lance. However, the orange-haired one does have a little bit of Eze in him, not to mention that the other boy is just like Magress. Personality differs, but they both want the same thing: revenge."_

"_I must say, it will be interesting to see how Lucius's chosen warriors will fare against me. The only question is if they live to tell the tale"_

_Back with the others…_

Sora and the others were still walking. Just as they reached an old plaza, Cloud soon sensed something was wrong. And as a matter of fact, his instincts were right.

"Estelle move!" Cloud shouted.

"Huh?"

Out of nowhere, an ugly creature came out of nowhere and attempted to harm Estelle. However, Ichigo anticipated the attack and manage to pull Estelle out of harm's way.

"Estelle, are you alright?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'll be alright." Estelle replied.

Rin, frustrated, looked at the creature and shouted, "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

The creature, about 5'6 tall, was a green goblin that wore a redcap and wore some leather armor. He had a large broadsword on his hand, and his teeth were as maniac as a shark. He had a look of glee as if he had found the perfect prey to hunt.

The creature laughed and said, "Hahaha! So these are the warriors he wanted us to take out. Nothing but a bunch of kids if you ask me."

"HEY, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A KID?!" Rin asked furiously.

Toma decided to interfere and asked, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Ha, who I am and what I want is none of your business! The only thing you need to know is that your meddling in our search!"

"Search?" Estelle asked.

"Yes, our search for the spirit of Agni's Burning Fencer."

"Agni's Burning Fencer?" Sora asked confused."

"I think it may have to do with that gigantic torch that's lit up on the top of that castle," Cloud said. "And I'm guessing Agni was name of these ruins right?"

"Yes, this was once the empire of fire. The element itself is what sustained itself, until the Gods came to destroy the humans."

"But why?" Estelle asked.

"I don't know and don't care. All I know is that I'm getting paid big just by finding this "spirit". And you know what else is funny?"

"What?" Rin asked nervously.

"What's funny is that my "client" told me that I would get paid for killing six humans found here if possible. You're obviously all humans, and coincidently there's six of you…so…"

"Ah crap! Seriously this sucks big time." Ichigo remarked.

The ugly creature made a signal, and suddenly millions of other green-skinned creatures came. Hundreds of them surrounding the whole plaza. They were just like the ugly creature, except they wore bandana's and held wooden clubs in their hands. Each of them smiling with glee.

"Alright boys time to make some money and show them how serious we goblins are," The creature known as a goblin said. "Get'em!"

Immediately, a swarm of them came to rush at the six heroes. The attack was so sudden that each of them was unprepared for the worse. However, they were saved by an unexpected ally.

Cloud came in, just right in front of them. He pulled out the heavy object wrapped in bandages and swung it at the many goblins that attempted to attack the six of them. The wave of goblins were sent flying and laid silently on the ground. To Cloud, these creatures were nothing but child's play. The bandages had flown off, only to reveal a heavy sword wrapped in more bandages that had a very blunt yet sharp edge.

"Wow, Clouds sword is so cool!" Rin said with an impressed tone.

"That's a really big sword. Doesn't it hurt his back when he carries it?" Estelle asked.

"Estelle now is not the time to-hey wait a minute where's Sora at?" Ichigo asked.

And as to answer his question, Sora was found countering many other goblins with what looked like a key-shaped sword in his hand, with no sharp edge whatsoever. It was none other than the Keyblade, a weapon with the power to unlock the locks of other worlds. Its hilt was black while the guard was yellow and square. The rainguard was blue while the blade and teeth of the weapon was 3.5', with the teeth being the shape of a crown. Sora was swinging his blade back and forth all the while casting various ice and lighting spells at the goblins. He then used gravity magic to suspend theme in the air and decimate the group of goblins with a powerful fire spell that exploded with tremendous force. The others were awed in amazement.

"What the hell, you mean to tell me Sora can use magic too?" Toma asked.

"Wow, I never knew Sora was so proficient in using artes." Estelle said with amazement.

Ichigo too was amazed at Cloud and Sora's fighting power. It was just here that they barely meet, and it would be here that the both of them were actual fighters. Just seeing Sora in battle reminded him of himself, while he thought of Cloud as another world version of Byakuya.

"Damn, these guys are tearing up the field." Ichigo said. However, Toma notice Rin removing the cover of whatever it was he was carrying.

It was revealed to be a katana in a blue sheath with gold decorations on it. The hilt was blue while the rainguard and bottom were gold that had two strings strapped on the bottom. Toma was surprised. Just what on earth was a guy like him doing with a sword, unless…

"Y'know, if I knew this was the type of crowd I was hanging out with, I would've told you guys who I really was," Rin said. He then turned to the others, who were confused by what he meant. "Just don't freak out, I can explain later."

And in an instant, he unsheathed his sword to reveal a long silver blade that was wrapped in a mysterious blue flame. And just as he unsheathed his sword, he too was covered in blue flames. His "fake" ears were even pointier than before, with two horn-like objects on his head by the shape of his flames. In fact, he even revealed to have had a more disturbing feature as well. From his bottom side, a tail could be seen sticking out, with a fluffy black tip. Toma and Ichigo were really confused as to what Rin was, or as to why he had a tail. Estelle was the same and was going to ask Rin what was going on with him until he decided to head to the battle with Cloud and Sora.

A group of Goblins were about to strike Cloud from behind. Cloud could anticipate the attack, but wouldn't. And the reason for that was because the enemies he was about to strike down were decimated by blue flames wrapped around them. Cloud was confused as to who cast the flames. He knew it couldn't be Sora, and he knew that flames were really more red than blue, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Yo, Cloud! Don't worry I got your back!"

Cloud looked back to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was no other then Rin who interfered. He looked more demonic then what Cloud saw, but Cloud knew judging someone would be a waste of time at the moment. Rin immediately rushed to his side back-to-back.

"Nice sword kid, but think those flames of yours gonna burn out?" Cloud asked.

Rin, who was holding he sword, happily replied, "Hah, are you kidding? There's no way chumps like these stand a chance against us!"

Cloud couldn't help but smirk. It seems that Lucius was really wise in picking brave warriors to fight against Maxwell. Now Sora and him wouldn't have to worry about doing all the hard work anymore. In a flash, the two lashed out at the large mob of goblins. Cloud performed his Sonic Rave technique, where he dashed quickly and took out a large group of goblins. Rin performed a single slash that cut through his opponents and left a trail of blue flames in its wake.

"_Hmm…I guess if these guys can fight, then maybe I should too." _Ichigo thought.

Ichigo then pulled out the badge he had in his pocket and immediately placed it on his chest. Nothing happened until a few seconds later, something separated from Ichigo's body. It was Ichigo, yet for some awkward reason, he was wearing a black Shihakusho, or kimono, with a large object wrapped in bandages held on his back by a red strap. As he pulled the object, the bandages started to unwrap, revealing what looked like a giant sword in the shape of a butcher knife with no guard of grip.

"_Good thing the others can't see me. Who knows what they might think." _Ichigo thought.

"AHHHH!" Estelle and Toma screamed.

Ichigo turned to see what they were screaming at, only to see that they were screaming at him.

"Ichigo-you-you-" Estelle stuttered.

"WHAT THE HELL, WHY ARE THERE TWO OF YOU?!" Toma asked.

Ichigo was confused at first. However, he then realized they could see him, while his body was still next to Estelle and Toma.

"Gahhhh, you guys can see me?" Ichigo asked frantically.

"Whaddya mean can we see you? Of course we can see you!" Toma said while pointing at Ichigo with a shocked expression.

"_How the hell can these guys see me? Do they have high spiritual pressure or something? Well whatever it is, I'll have to figure it out later." _

"Hey you guys, I know it's sudden but can you look after my body for me? I'm gonna go help out Sora." Ichigo asked and requested.

"Wait, what?" Toma asked.

However, Estelle simply said, "Okay, but you'll have to explain to us what your condition is later."

Ichigo could only look at her with exaggeration. He sighed and said, "Relax, I'll explain later. And thanks, I appreciate it."

And with that, he left to aid Sora while Estelle and Toma were looking after his own body.

Meanwhile, Sora was striking down goblins left to right. He gathered them using his magnet spell and blasted them with thunder, knocking out the group of goblins. Another wave attempted to attack the young boy, but the attempt was thwarted when Sora used his Ars Arcanum technique that allowed him to attack rapidly fast with equal power and speed. One by one, he knocked the goblins out of his way, but more continued to close in on him.

"Man, just how many of them are there?" the young keyblade master asked.

Another wave came in and was just about to attack him. Sora prepared himself, but the goblins were decimated by an unlikely ally.

"_Getsuga Tenshou!"_

A giant crescent-shaped wave of power came from nowhere and crashed into the attacking wave of goblins, wiping them out. Surprised, Sora went to see who it was, and it was there he found a familiar orange haired individual who came flying down on the ground. It was Ichigo who was wearing some kind of black kimono. Just where did Ichigo find a dressing room? And how did he obtain that giant knife-like sword.

"You alright Sora?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora replied, "But what are you-"

"No time to explain. First think we got to do is take care these bastards."

"Sure thing." Sora replied with a smile.

The two of them charged forward as another wave of goblins came forward. Sora continued to bombard with slashes and magic attacks. Ichigo in the meanwhile used shear force to attack his enemies, slaying them one by one. Apparently, the four of them: Sora, Cloud, Rin, and Ichigo. Each one of these four had special combat abilities that Lucius must have seen in them. Estelle and Toma were watching in awe.

"Wow, aren't they amazing Toma?" Estelle asked in amazement.

"_Holy hell! These guys are freaking monsters!"_ Toma thought while sweating.

However, the two of them had an unexpected surprise.

Another wave of monsters came, only this time they were aiming for Estelle and Toma. Toma was unprepared for what was going to happen. As for Estelle, she had quite the trick up her sleeves.

"_Pow Hammer!"_

Just as a goblin was about to whack Toma, a hammer mysteriously came out of nowhere and whacked the goblin in the head, knocking him out. This left Toma and the other goblins confused as to what happened. However, he turned around and saw Estelle holding an elegant shield and mages staff in both her hands.

"Hey Estelle, did you-" Toma said but at a loss for words.

"Well, since everyone here knows how to fight, I figured I should try and do the same," Estelle replied with a smile. "Toma can you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"I'll take care of these goblins, but could you look over Ichigo's body for me, please? I promise it won't take long and-"

However, Toma was actually found near a pile of rubble with Ichigo's motionless body. He replied to her, "Oh no it's cool; you can go ahead and fight while I stay here where it's safe. No worries take your time."

"Thank you!" Estelle said with gratitude."

As the goblins were surrounding her, Estelle looked around to see what her next move would be.

"Hm, if Yuri were here, I wonder what he would suggest. Oh I know!"

Estelle then started to raise her staff and use another powerful arte in her command.

"_Angel Ring!"_

With her power, she conjured up a circle of light that surrounded her enemies. They were confused at first, but when the circle came in closer; her enemies meet an unexpected fate. The circle compressed, and her enemies were sliced by the light.

"Score one for me!" Estelle said.

Meanwhile, Toma was looking at them from his safe spot.

"_Man, these guys are like really powerful. Too bad the only useful thing I have is my hair and my right arm."_

As for the goblin with the redcap, anger could tell what he could express. He was standing on top of a ruined building with two of his goblin troops.

"What the hell you maggots! You're letting a bunch of humans push you around?!"

"But sir, they aren't normal humans! They can use magic and stuff." One of the goblins minions said.

"THEN GET OUT OUR IFRITS AND KILL THESE BASTARDS! START WITH THE GIRL SINCE WOMEN ARE WEAKER!"

In compliance, the goblin warriors made a signal and two drake-like creatures appeared; apparently summoned by some sorts. Two of these creatures were red with their chest purple. It's claws were as sharp as daggers, while it had two horns on top of its head. And both had a tail with a trident-like point at the tip. The goblin with the redcap they pointed at Estelle, and the two Ifrit creatures prepared their flames to burn Estelle and point blank.

"Burn them to a crisp. I'm heading to the Agni castle and get our payday." The redcap goblin said.

With that, he left, while the Ifirits were ready and were about to bombard Estelle in a burning fire.

"_Hell Blaze!"_

The two fire demons fired an incredible blast of fire that incinerated anything blazing through its path. The fire was coming incredibly fast, and was headed towards Estelle. Rin and Cloud took notice of the fire and gasped at who the intended target was.

"ESTELLE!" Rin shouted.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY NOW!" Cloud shouted as well.

Estelle was confused by what the two of them meant, until she looked at the burst of flames headed straight towards her. She was unprepared for what would happen and couldn't react in time for the flames headed straight towards her. It seemed that her end was here, that was, until another unexpected ally came in to lend a hand, or an arm.

Toma, who noticed that flames were going to kill Estelle, decided to act on instinct and ran right in front of Estelle. He quickly raised his right arm in front of the flames.

"Toma, what are you doing?!" Estelle asked in confusion as to what he was doing.

However, it was too late and the flames had come right in front of them. Estelle closed her eyes thinking to brace herself for what to come. But she soon realized that nothing happened. She looked at Toma, and realized that the flames were extinguishing right in front of him just by raising his right arm. Estelle was amazed at the power Toma possessed.

"Toma, how are you-"

"Estelle stay behind me until the flames die out!"

She decided to listen to what Toma said and remained behind him until the flames dispersed.

As the flames died out, Estelle was amazed at how neither the flames, nor a single spark had even touched her. What she was more amazed at however was how Toma was still in front of her. He was perfectly unscathed, as if the fire had never come at his direction in the first place.

Toma then put his right arm down and turned to Estelle. He then asked her, "You alright?"

Estelle calmly nodded her head.

"That's good."

"_Getsuga Tenshou!"_

Ichigo performed his signature move and decimated both the goblins and the ifrits.

"HEY YOU GUYS IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICE YOU LEFT MY BODY WIDE IN THE OPEN!" Ichigo said abruptly.

Toma who then realized what was happening, frantically panicked while returning to guard Ichigo's body.

"_Amazing. Toma just blocked the flames with is bare hands. Actually, it was more like the flames just disappeared without him even trying." _Estelle thought.

"WOW, TOMA THAT WAS COOL! I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE THIS AWESOME!" Rin said.

Cloud, who was still fighting, told Rin, "Now's not the time to be impressed."

While Toma returned to guarding Ichigo's body, the rest continued to fight with intense vigor. Cloud used his powerful omnislash technique and cut down the various numbers of goblins in his path. Rin still continued to cut down goblins with his blue flames and katana, while Ichigo continued to hack and slash all in his path. Estelle in the meanwhile was continuing to put up a good fight while supporting her allies all the same.

Meanwhile, as Sora was fighting, he noticed the red capped goblins was missing and sensed something afoot. He looked around his surroundings and realized the red capped goblin was probably long gone. He kept looking around until he saw something from a distance. It was the red capped goblin, and he was already about to enter the castle. Sora knew that if they got their hands on that flame, then there was a possible chance Grand Gaia would been in further danger. Sora was not going to let that happen, so he decided to run off to the castle immediately.

"Sora, where are you going?" Cloud asked while catching Sora in the act.

"They're already at the castle, I have to stop them from obtaining that fire!" Sora exclaimed.

Cloud tried to say something, but Sora was long gone, and the others were left to take care of the rest of the goblins while Sora went to the flame.

_At the top of the castle tower…_

After a while, the red cap finally made it to the top of the tower. There it was, the torch that held the fire. The torch was large and was ornate with designs of fire on it. The torch was gold and shined with brilliance despite being millions of years old. The fire itself was burning bright with vigor and passion. The orange and red colors displayed a feel of warmth to it. This fire held more than just warmth, for it held the soul of Agni's Burning Fencer.

"Hahaha, at last it's in my grasp!" The red cap said with excitement.

However, just as he went near the fire, the flames spewed out and burned the goblins hand.

"GAAAAAHHHH! Damn you Vargas! Damn you and your stupid species!" Red cap said.

"_Deep Freeze!"_

The goblin leader soon found himself surprised as his feet were frozen. Sora, who had just arrived barely at the top of the tower, ran towards the red cap goblin and whacked him away from the flames with keyblade in hand. The goblin then found himself whacked at a distance while Sora ran up to him.

"There's no way I'm gonna let you take those flames!" Sora exclaimed while running up to the goblin.

"If I can't have those flames…" The goblins started to say. Just as Sora was about to hit him, the goblin leader whacked him with tremendous force that landed him directly in the flames and said, "THEN NO ONE CAN!"

"AHHHHHH!"

Sora landed in the flames after being hit by the goblin. Normally, he should've burned to tinder, under the word "normally". However, for some strange reason, he wasn't affected by the fire at all. Confused, he stood up wondering what was happening.

"Huh, how come I'm not burning?" Sora asked himself in confusion.

Right on cue, he looked to see a red glow in his pocket. He immediately pulled out his crystal only for it to shine even brighter than before. The crystal glowed bright to the point it nearly blinded his eyes until the light died out. As he soon recovered, he saw a bright red light in front of him. As for his crystal, it dissolved into particles, only for a strange device for it to take its place. It was a red and black device that had about four buttons on it. The top seemed to be a scanner of some kind, while there was a small screen. As Sora took the device he marveled at it with wonder. And then the red light spoke to him.

"_Sora, congratulations. It seems Lucius was right as to choosing you as my successor."_

"Ah, who are you?"

"_In life, my name was Vargas, and these ruins of Agni were once my home. My home and fellow warriors once revered to me as The Burning Fencer."_

"You're the Burning Fencer that goblin was yapping about?"

"_Yes, but now is the time for you to unleash the power hidden within that crystal."_

"The crystals power?"

"_Yes, as you've already realized, the crystal had transformed into a device. That is known as a Brave Evolver. With it, you can become me and unleash the power of the crimson fire: one of the six elements that gave my empire and Grand Gaia life."_

"Wait, what do you mean become you?"

"_I wish I could explain more, but we're running out of time. Point your device and my soul will split into two parts. The first will meld into the device to allow your transformation, while the second will meld with your body granting you the power of fire. I know you're skilled in magic, but my skill will enhance your abilities with fire, but fire alone. And after the battle, you may notice some changes, but enough now. Now hurry and point the device at my soul!"_

Sora was confused as to what was going on, but decided to comply with what Vargas said. He pointed the device and Vargas's soul was absorbed into the device. Just as it entered, another part of Vargas's soul entered into Sora. He felt a rush of fire burning through his veins. And as if acting on instinct, he began to use the device to "transform" just as Vargas described. And soon, the magic began to work.

First off, the screen showed a translucent image of a fencer with a sword on his back. Sora then held the device on his right hand. He then held out his left arm, and a spiral of flame appeared surrounding his left hand. He swiped his arms crossing each other, he then flipped his arms and hand down, and flipped it back up while swiping his device with the spiral of fire on his hand.

"_Now, Execute…"_

He then fully swiped the device and he was surrounded by a spiral of fire, while his clothes had dispersed and was covered in a red glow. The Soul of the fencer, which appeared to be Vargas, soon exploded in a burst of fire.

"_Hero Evolution!"_

He was then surrounded by a wall of fire and soon became a silhouette of red and white. The fire was changing Sora's hairstyle up a little, his hair being a little cleaner but flowing like fire. Then, armor parts began to form around Sora. As the various armor parts lined up, they began to attach themselves to Sora as the wall of fire began to compress around him. As the compression was complete, the transformation revealed a warrior who had spiky fire flowing like red hair. He then descended down and had a large broadsword on his hand. He then performed a spiral uppercut with his blade and landed with grace. He was revealed to be a warrior with light armor and had red leather to protect him with black boots and had black leather gloves.

"_Fencer Vargas, armed and ready!" _

As the transformation was complete, Vargas who was now Sora, began shouting while the flames of the torch began to burst in high eruption. It could be viewed from everywhere. Cloud and the others who were fighting could notice the fire geyser that had just erupted from the torch.

"What the hell was that?" Toma asked.

"Sora no doubt, but what's going on is anyone's guess." Cloud said.

Meanwhile, the red cap that knocked Sora into the flame was shocked to see who it was that emerged from the flame. It was Vargas, and he was standing as if he was going get serious now.

"Ho-ho-How are you?"

"Pushing me into the fire was your biggest mistake! Now you're going to feel the blazing wrath of the Agni's Burning Fencer! Be prepared, for I'm about to turn you into cinder!"

Soon, the goblin would realize that seeing Vargas would be the last thing he ever saw.

**Wow, So Sora transformed into Vargas the Burning Fencer! But can Vargas emerge victorious? Just what will happen next? Find out next time on Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia.**

**Thank you and good-bye.**


	4. The War And The Six Heroes of Grand Gaia

Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia

Not too long ago, Sora and company found themselves in the land of Grand Gaia. From there, they started to explore the ruins of what was once known as the Agni Empire, a land that was ruled and sustained by the foundations of fire and destroyed from a great war between humans and the gods. Despite the ruins, there was a large torch that could be seen with a burning bright fire. Thinking the fire to be related to the crystals that Lucius had given them, Sora and the others decided to head to the castle, while looking at the ruins around them. Unfortunately, they were ambushed by a group of goblins who were hired by Maxwell to not just obtain the fire, but to destroy our heroes as well. However, Maxwell and the goblins underestimated our heroes and stood no chance against the powers our heroes possessed. However, the leader decided to leave and take the fire while Sora gave chase. Sora almost took on the goblin, but was knocked into the flame. However, the flames had no effect on him and his crystal turned into some strange device. It was there he meet the soul of Vargas, Agni's Burning Fencer. He told him to use the device to transform, and Sora actually became Vargas. Now that goblin freak is going to get what's coming to him.

"Ho-ho-how are you-"

"Pushing me into the fire was your biggest mistake! Now you're going to feel the blazing wrath of Agni's Burning Fencer! Be prepared, for I'm about to turn you into cinder!"

The red cap goblin was furious. Not only did the human rob the flame and all the power from him, but his payday was all but nada. But what made him more furious was seeing a spitting image of Vargas, the Burning Fencer of Fire and leader of the Six Heroes that saved Grand Gaia from danger. He didn't know how or why, but he swore he would make the teenage human pay for ruining his chance for money.

Slowly taking his sword, he said to Vargas, who was actually Sora, "Damn you! You ruined everything! I don't know how Vargas is here or if he's even alive, but I know I'm not going to let you leave here alive!"

"Think I'll lose to a goblin like you," Vargas, known as Sora, replied. He then put his blade on his shoulder and said, "I can tolerate your kind, but for just taking money from the gods and not giving a damn in the world, you best prepare yourself!"

"Come and get-"

Before the goblin could finish, Vargas came rushing in and clashed swords with the goblin. They first got into a struggle, but Vargas got the upper hand and knocked the goblin back a distance. The goblin took a stance, while Vargas still continued to sling his blade on his shoulder. The goblin then proceeded to an attack with various thrusts, but Vargas merely dodged his thrusts and parried the last attack while he countered with a back hand slash that knocked the goblin of his feet while injuring him in the progress. Vargas then attacked him with a thrust and sword uppercut that knocked the goblin into the air and finished by knocking him with a spinning slash of fire that knocked the goblin of his feet.

Vargas then looked at his opponent and said, "It's futile to keep on fighting. You and I both know how this battle will end, so just surrender and we're even."

However, this only irritated the goblin and he shouted and the fiery swordsman, "THINK YOU'RE ALL TOUGH?! SEE HOW YOU FARE AGAINST MY BRAVE BURST!"

Then goblin charged at Vargas with all his might. He was started to glow a red aura and was building momentum to charge his attack. As soon as he reached Vargas, he began to thrust his sword that was infused with his pent up rage.

"_Red Strike!"_

The goblin struck Vargas with a powerful downward thrust that released bursts of red energy that collided with Vargas. An explosion was soon followed by the attack that left nothing but smoke in the area.

"Hahaha! Now who's the tough one?!" The goblin leader said with glee.

"Not you that's for sure."

The goblin was confused as to where the voice came from. The smoke started to clear however, and it wasn't a pretty sight for the goblin. As the smoke was clearing, a figure could be seen. It was humanoid, and could only mean one thing. As the goblin moved back, his expression was horror as to what he saw. Soon, the smoke finally cleared out and the figure was revealed. It was Vargas, and he survived the attack. As a matter of fact, he wasn't scathed one bit.

"What?! But how?"

Vargas simply rubbed his right shoulder while still slinging his sword. He smiled and said, "You have an impressive Brave Burst attack, but it needs more practice."

"No! It cannot be!"

Vargas yawned for a bit a said, "I really want to end this battle right now," Vargas said. He then flared with a red aura around him and said, "Time to heat things up!"

He then charged at the goblin with incredible speed. As he reached him, he started to infuse the power of his fire into his sword into his Brave Burst attack. He performed a powerful slashing uppercut and then allowed his power to explode on impact.

"_Flare Ride!"_

With all his power, the uppercut conjured into a fire that burst into a powerful combustion. It soon exploded with amazing power. The red cap goblin was unable to escape this attack, for its range was great indeed. This was but a small taste of the power of the Burning Fencer. And the goblin had paid for it with his life. He was caught in the explosion, and the fire was too great for him. The damage he took was about at maximum.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The goblin shouted in agony

Vargas landed gracefully, as the fire explosion took its toll on the victim. It then died out while the goblin leader landed hard on his back. There he was, his eye's void and his body scorched but still standing. He lay with an expression of disbelief. The battle was over, and it was clear that outcome of this match was in no doubt in Vargas' hands the entire time. However he was not done yet.

Vargas walked up to the defeated goblin and took out his Brave Evolver from his armor buckle. He pressed a button and soon a fire symbol could be seen. Then the goblin was surrounded by a white summoning circle.

"It's over for you. I'm going to seal you back to the Gate to where you belong." Vargas said.

He then twirled his device as arks of red fire came out of his device. The fire began to wrap around the goblin and the light of the circle was intensifying. Soon it grew so bright; the goblins body began to disperse into a white light. The light was then sunken down by the seal. Thanks to Vargas, the goblin was sealed back to wherever it is that it came from.

"It's done." Vargas said while smiling in relief.

Soon a wall of flame was wrapped around Vargas, signaling the transformation was over. He then reverted back to Sora, who Vargas really was. Sora then felt light headed. He was getting a little woozy, and was starting to fall. He tried to keep himself up, but he decided he was too tired and decided to rest for a while.

He then slumped to the ground, where he laid unconscious for a while.

* * *

_Moments later…_

"Sora! Sora wake up!" Said a voice that urged Sora to wake up.

Sora, who was unconscious after his fight with the goblin leader, heard the voice quite faintly. He was having a hard time trying to open his eyes. He however manage to wake up, but found himself stuggling a bit. As he woke up, he sat up trying to see who it was that woke him up.

There was Cloud, who was in front of him and worried for his friend's safety. By him were Estelle, Toma, Rin, and Ichigo. It seems they were able to mop up the remaining goblins and came to catch up with Sora. However, the battle was already over; evident with the missing leader and Sora lying unconscious. Cloud sighed in relief along with the others.

"For a minute…I thought you were done for." Cloud said.

"We took out the goblins and came rushing to the top of the castle hoping to help you," Estelle said. "But it looks like you took care of it."

Sora, who was rubbing his head, said to Estelle, "Yeah, guess I did. Did I?"

Toma raised an eyebrow and asked, "You mean you don't remember?"

Sora replied, "Well, all I remember was getting knocked into the fire and-"

"YOU GOT KNOCKED INTO THE FIRE?!" Everyone, save Cloud, asked in shock.

"Yeah, I did."

"Well then, how did you survive?" Rin asked.

"I-"

But soon, Sora remembered what happened soon after. He then scrambled for his pockets to see if "It" was still there. The others were confused as to what Sora was looking for. He dug deep into all his pockets until he felt something. Knowing what it was he pulled out the object that he was looking for. It was a red and black device that looked like some kind of scanner and had four buttons.

"What's that?" Ichigo asked.

"When I was thrown into the fire, I somehow survived and then my crystal transformed into this device." Sora said.

The others were surprised at this sudden revelation.

"Holy crap. Your crystal turned into that thing," Toma asked to which Sora nodded his head. "So…what is it?"

Just as Sora was about to say something, an unexpected voice came out of nowhere.

"That's one of the Brave Evolvers am I right?"

The others were confused as to where it came from. They turned around to see where it came from. The voice came from a female who was standing in front of them. She was a young woman, slim, tall, and average. She was beautiful beyond belief. She had long hair with hues of light blue, blue, and pink while her eyes were a deep blue cerulean color. She wore an ornate green and white floral like dress and she had two golden bracelets on each of her arms. She wore a pair of white and black boots that had a gold streak across with a rainbow floral theme. She also had a green headband that had a floral design as well.

Rin and Toma dropped their jaws at just the sight of her. The rest of the group looked at her with a look of wonder. Just who was this woman? And more importantly, just where did she come from, or just where was she when this entire mess started?

The mysterious woman merely smiled and said, "I know you all are wondering who I am, but don't worry. Lucius was the one who sent me to help you six."

"You know Lucius?" Cloud asked.

The mysterious woman replied, "Indeed I am. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tilith, and I am a goddess that works with Lucius in his goal of defeating the anti-gods and saving humanity."

"Wow, you're a goddess? Amazing, I feel as if we are unworthy," Estelle said as she was bowing her head. "Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am-"

However, Tilith just raised her hand and said to her, "Oh it's alright; I'm not that amazing really. And I know who you all are," Tilith said with a coy gesture. "You guys are Sora, Estelle, Toma, Ichigo, Cloud, and Rin right?"

Everyone nodded their heads surprised that she knew their names.

Tilith then looked to Sora and said, "And I see the effects of Vargas's soul has already kicked in. I can't tell if you were hotter normally or as the Soul of Vargas."

Sora was confused by what she meant, until the others realized what she meant.

"Oh yeah…uh…Sora…there's uh…one thing we also wanted to know what happened to you." Ichigo said.

"Huh? Well what is it?" Sora asked.

And as if to answer the question, Estelle pulled out a small mirror she kept when she was back in the castle of her own world. She handed it to Sora to reveal what was wrong with him. And you could bet for sure he was in shock. When he glanced into the mirror, he noticed something was wrong with his hair. It wasn't straight, puffed, or turned into a pompadour. No, this was something he would never expect in his life.

His hair was the same, but there was something else that made him shocked. For it wasn't the style it, it was the color.

His hair was now a deep crimson-fire red dye.

And not just his hair, but his eyes were also a normal red hue. He was confused as to what happened with his hair and eyes. He immediately stood up, to look at himself to see if anything else about him "changed". And he was in for another surprise. His clothes he had were no longer black. His shirt was a bright red color, while the vest he wore was a deep red color with his guards on his shoulder being a gold color. His shorts were a deep red as well, while the bottom of his shorts had a burning flame design with a bright yellow and orange design. His shoes and gloves were also the same color as well, and his sags were a golden color as well. The straps on his shoes and gloves were black. And on the back of his shirt, a fire symbol could be seen in bold colors of red, orange, and yellow. Sora was shocked to see his attire change.

"GAHHHH, WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO ME?" Sora asked in confusion.

"You mean that's not one of your drive forms or a new drive?" Cloud asked.

"It's not a drive form I've seen that's for sure!"

"Oh relax Sora. That's just the result of Vargas's soul infusing with you. Well…half of it anyway."

"Half?" Sora asked.

He then started to remember what Vargas said to him.

"…_And after the battle, you may notice some changes…"_

"Oh right! He did tell me that," Sora said after remembering Vargas's words. "But do you think he could've mentioned this?"

"Who's Vargas?" Rin asked.

Tilith decided to answer Rin's question and said, "Vargas is known in the history of Grand Gaia as one of the Six Heroes that saved Grand Gaia from the wrath of the gods. He was a powerful swordsman who started out as a military soldier, and later on in his life became a legend and mastered the power of fire. This is his home of Agni where you all are at right now; the empire of fire. He was also known as-"

"The Burning Fencer of Agni, right?" Sora said to finish of Tilith's brief explanation of Vargas.

"Right, exactly! Then I'm guessing you already met Vargas?" Tilith asked to which Sora nodded his head.

"Wow, you met with this guy?" Toma asked with curiosity."

"Not really. I only talked to his spirit that was sealed into the flames." Sora replied.

Cloud decided to say something and asked Tilith, "So you're here to help us? Can you tell us more about Grand Gaia and these Six Heroes?"

Tilith happily replied, "Of course, after all that's why I'm here to help. How bout we get a fire started and I'll explain everything to you." Tilth said.

"Oh man, now that you think of it, it is starting to get late." Rin said.

"Let's get a fire started and settle down, because it looks like we're gonna have to settle here for the night." Ichigo suggested.

* * *

_Moments later…_

The group was sitting down near a campfire while sitting on parts of rubble on the castle. It took some doing, but they manage to find wood for the fire. It was quite easy due to some of the trees around the city, but getting back was a pain. Just as supplies were found, the question of lighting a fire was in question. Fortunately, Sora who was skilled in magic lit up a fire that burned very brightly. The six plus Tilith gathered in a circle getting comfortable.

"So Tilith, now that everything is set, could you tell us all you know?" Estelle asked.

Tilith nodded and replied, "Of course. I'll be sure to answer all that you need."

"Then…could you tell us about the beginning, like the war between humans and gods?" Cloud asked.

Tilith nodded her head and begun with her story.

"A long time ago, Grand Gaia was created by the gods who gave life to everything. The plants, trees, animals, and humans as well for everything was created by the gods. Grand Gaia was given life by the six elements: fire, water, earth, lightning, light, and darkness. At a time, humans began to worship the gods, and the gods in turn granted their divine protection to the humans. This world would seem perfect were it not for the war. To be honest, I really don't know what caused this war in the first place, though it's said that a human caused something to anger the gods."

"Well it that's the case, why didn't they just punish that guy instead?" Ichigo asked bluntly.

Tilith merely shook her head and said, "Maybe if it was a simple case, but this was beyond belief. I don't know who the human was or what the human did, but from what I heard from Lucius, it's said that what he did not only angered the gods, but it caused the gods to believe all humans that were created were just as impure as that one human."

"Damn, just what the hell did that bastard do?" Ichigo asked.

"As I said I don't know. I was born during the aftermath of the war, and the ones who knew of the reason are long gone," Tilith said which caused the group to ponder in question. "Anyway, the gods were angry of what had happened and declared war on the humans. The gods had devastated Grand Gaia with ferocity, and it seemed the human race would be extinct. However, hope was not lost; for there were humans that decided to fight back even after realizing what they would be doing would be a disgrace to the gods and themselves. There were numerous warriors from all over that trained hard to obtain the power necessary to fight the gods. Some of these fighters were skilled and gained powers that were beyond belief. These humans that fought against the gods were saviors and gave humanity the hope it needed to fight back. However, there was a group of heroes whose achievements were far superior and could never be hoped to surpass. They were the most powerful warriors Grand Gaia had ever seen in its life time. None could surpass them, and even the gods feared them."

"Are they the Six Heroes you were mentioning before?" Estelle asked.

"Yes indeed. They were known as the Six Heroes because of their bravery, strength, and mastery of their respective elements. You already know about Vargas since Sora now has his powers. The other five are Selena of Sama, Lance of Vriksha, Eze of Atharva, Atro of La Veda, and Magress of Bariura."

"Awesome. So is there anything you can tell us about them?" Rin asked.

"Only what I know. I don't know anything about their personal lives, so you'll have to ask them yourselves," Tilith said that left the others pondering what she meant with Sora being the only one to understand what she meant. "From what I remember; Vargas was at first a promising Agni soldier who followed in the footsteps of his father. Selena was once a part of the people of Savat ; wanderers of the kingdom of Sarma. Lance was the son of one of the wealthy aristocrats of Vriksha. Eze was originally a miner who worked in the Atharva mines. Atro grew up in a monastery to become a swordsman while Magress was a renowned cavalry soldier at the age of sixteen."

"So they started out small? Kind of subtle if you think about it." Toma said.

"Yes, they were average at first. However, each and every one of them went through hardships that not only shaped their characters, but shaped themselves for they fight against the gods." Tilith said.

"So, how are these guys different from all other warriors?" Toma asked.

"Well, these Six are masters of their respective elements as I have said. But on another note, each of them holds possession of a special weapon that granted them even more elemental power. Not to mention they each had someone or something that motivates them to keep on fighting."

"But is that the same for everyone?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but the six of them held something that was very dear to them; let it be either an ideal or some person in their lives. For example, Vargas was an exceptional swordsman, but his defeat at the hands of Lava, who we won't discuss about, inspired him to train harder. In fact, it strove him to go beyond seeking strength and he attained power others could only dream off."

"The power to defeat the gods?" Cloud asked.

Tilith nodded her head while the others pondered in amazement.

"Can you tell us about how these guys saved Grand Gaia? That has to be coolest part of their story right?" Rin asked.

"Hold on, I'm more interested on how the six of them even met." Estelle asked.

"Very well then. The six of them happened to have met each other while each of them left their respective homes to train. Coincidently, they happen to meet each other while at a cross roads. They were off to a rocky start, but they traveled together nonetheless and they formed an unbreakable bond that they held deep with each other for eternity despite how the other acted."

"Wow, that's pretty epic if you ask me. So what happened when they fought the gods?" Sora asked with curiousity.

"When it came down to the survival of humanity, humans and god alike were at odds ends and the war would soon come to an end. However, it would seem that humanity would lose and that all life would end. However, the Six Heroes stood when others couldn't and they proceeded to fight. They fought while being one with their own elements. They tore through the battlefield like a knife that cuts through butter. They were so powerful, that they feared by even the gods. Their strength inspired humanity to fight back and their efforts helped to shape the war in favor." Tilith said.

"No need to be down, but I'm guessing there were some drawbacks am I right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, you're right. As you know, they were feared by the gods. However, understand that their opponents were gods, and that the moment someone choose to fight them, it was the moment they would face the full fury of their divine wrath. They fought valiantly, but even they couldn't escape unscathed."

"Oh man, so what happened next?" Rin asked with curiousity.

"It was at that time the humanity would soon be destroyed. Hope would soon be lost, or so it appeared. However, it was at that critical moment for each of the heroes that they unlocked the latent potential of their powers and became a powerful force to be reckoned with."

"However, the gods started to fight back with as much strength as possible. The gods couldn't believe that humans had the power to fight them. Soon however, would be a tragedy for the Six Heroes, for the gods decided to unleash a powerful enemy." Tilith said

"A…powerful enemy?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but that depends-"

"Depends on what?" Cloud asked.

"Do you know what a "fallen" god is?"

"A fallen god? You mean like gods or angels that fall from heaven just by breaking the rules of heaven and being impure in the process or something?" Toma said.

"Yes, well what would you think would happen if fallen gods started to fight in the war as well?"

"No way…you don't mean-"

"Yes, even the fallen had joined the battle, and their powers of darkness were severe indeed. With them on the other side, it seemed that the balanced had tipped again. However, the Six Heroes fought without relent, and even the fallen gods fell to their power."

"Then, why is this supposed to be a tragedy?" Ichigo asked.

"Because, during the fighting, the gods realized that this war was pointless and realized the stupidity of their actions while humanity realized the same. It took a while, but the gods decided to call the war quits and both sides wanted to reconcile with each other. So, the gods proposed to stop the war and give back the lives of those who were lost, while the humans pledged to find the traitor among them who angered them."

"Let me guess, it didn't turn out that way did it?" Cloud asked.

Tilith nodded her head and continued, "Yes, indeed. While some of the gods were praising this treaty, there were others would did not want the fighting to stop. They felt that humanity was a disease that needed to be purged. And when they learned of the treaty, it only angered them even more. Their feelings grew by a negative impulse, and it grew so strong that they lost whatever divinity came of them. This group of gods came to be known as the fallen gods and they declared the death of humanity."

"Man, that's just messed up. So then humanity fought the fallen gods?" Toma asked.

"Yes they did, and their rage and hatred towards humanity was a force to be reckoned with. I know I already mentioned the fallen gods earlier, but these fallen were different because they had a greater hatred than their predecessors who they fought against. However, humanity was not without an ally. While the fallen were on their own, a faction of pro-human gods fought on the side of humanity. These were the gods who believed in humanity and saw the good in their hearts."

"You mean like Lucius?" Sora asked.

Tilith happily nodded her head and said, "Yes, in fact Lucius also took part of the war as well."

"That could explain why Lucius asked us to fight for him, but why didn't Lucius just defeat all the fallen gods?" Cloud asked.

"I'm getting to that, but later," Tilith said. She then continued from where she left off and said, "Now, as I was saying. Once that fallen had declared war, the humans rallied with Lucius and his faction to fight in one last battle. The Six Heroes joined as well, hoping to end the confrontation once and for all," Tilith said with a brief pause. She then caught her breath and continued her story, "The battle was long and tiring, and so many lives were lost in the initial fight between humanity and the fallen gods. With the efforts of the Six Heroes, the war was in favor of humanity and the pro-human faction of gods. However, the fallen and their intense hatred kept fueling their power and they refuse to let humanity survive. It was then the fallen came up with a plan that endangered not just humanity, but the land of Grand Gaia as well."

Tilith closed her eyes in remorse. Whatever had happened during the fight against humans and gods seemed to have caused Tilith pain. It made Sora and the rest of the group ponder about what had happened.

"Tilith…what happened that almost caused Grand Gaia to be destroyed entirely?" Estelle asked with as much curiosity as the others.

Tilith took a brief pause for a while before giving an answer. She then opened her eyes, but with a sad expression as she prepared to give them the answer.

"The fallen…were going to use the Nature of Destruction, and nearly succeeded."

"Nature of Destruction? You know, I have some experience with some awkward magic, but this sounds really bad." Toma said.

"It really was bad, because Nature of Destruction was a magical tool that had the power to absorb the power of all the elements from every living being." Tilith said.

The others were shocked just by hearing about what Nature of Destruction could do.

"Wait what do you mean by absorbing the element of every living thing?" Ichigo asked.

"Nature of Destruction was developed by the gods before the age of the humans. It was a weapon of devastation developed by the gods for the sole purpose of taking away elemental power and life force of any living being. Its original purpose was to act as a tool to take away a gods power should any fall out of line. However, the device was just too powerful and instead it took away both power and life, but that wasn't all it could do. The more power the Nature of Destruction consumed, the more powerful it grew, meaning it could absorb all things greater including Grand Gaia."

"Didn't they try to destroy it?" Cloud asked.

"They tried, but to no avail. The weapon was too powerful, and even if they could, the energy released would be too unstable and could cause cataclysmic consequences. The only solution they could think of was to seal it so that it could never be used for harm. You can bet that when the fallen were desperate in the war, you could think of what they wanted."

"They dug out the weapon, didn't they?" Rin asked with anger in his voice.

"Yes they did. Their hatred for humanity was so intense, they were willing to do anything to be sure that all humans were wiped from existence. And with an emphasis on "anything". It didn't matter if Grand Gaia was destroyed or if fellow allies were sacrificed, all that mattered was the destruction of humanity."

The others were shocked and angered by this sudden remark. Willing to sacrifice anything to destroy their objective, whatever these gods were, they were nothing but beings who thrived in the darkness. Cloud just kept his calm, but his heart showed disdain for what the fallen gods were doing. Estelle could only look down in sadness. She understood the pain the fallen gods were in, but she knew that wiping out life was the wrong thing to do. It didn't matter who or what you were, life was precious and it belonged to everyone. Toma and Ichigo could only look down with anger in disgust. As for Rin, his anger flared while gritting his teeth and clutching his sword tightly. But as for Sora, he could only look down and clutch his fists tightly while feeling the anger in his heart. There was no way he could ever forgive the fallen gods for going too far.

Tilith, who noticed the anger the group was displaying, decided to continue with her story, "As I said before, the fallen gods bequeathed the Nature of Destruction, and you could say the results were catastrophic. With the weapon in their hands, they were virtually unstoppable. One could only imagine the horror as they were exterminating all life. Who in their right minds would perform something so disastrous has no sanity whatsoever. Everyone fought their hardest, but everyone and every god succumbed to Nature of Destruction. Not even the Six Heroes, the people that gave humanity hope and gave the pro-human gods their belief in humanity, were able to withstand Nature of Destruction. But that doesn't mean humanity lost."

"Then…how?" Estelle asked with a loss for words.

Tilith began to speak, but she had a sad expression on her face. It was difficult, but she manage to get the words out of her, "The Six Heroes. The six of them: Vargas, Selena, Lance, Eze, Atro, and Magress. Somehow, they were able to overcome Nature of Destruction and decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"Wait, do you mean-"

"No one knows how they overcame Nature of Destruction, but there's a theory. To put it briefly, something inside their hearts driven them to never give up. None know what this drive was, but if you ask me, I think the thought of losing their beloved one was too much to bear. And I think that the other thing that gave them strength was their bond with each other. The will to protect each other and all that was dear. The Six Heroes went through so many trials, lost so much but gained a lot as well. This had to have been what gave them the will to go on. At least, that's what I believe."

"Nah, I don't think that's a lie Tiilith," Sora said. "I think that what you believe is actually the truth."

"Thank you for believing me, though I know a few historians who prefer logic over emotion," Tilith said. She continued to resume her story, "It was at that critical moment that the fate of humanity…no, Grand Gaia was at stake. The Six Heroes were weakened, but continued to stand nonetheless. It was a critical moment that they decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"What…did they do?" Toma asked.

"Everyone knows that each element has a strength and a weakness. But, legend is said that if you combine the powers of all the six elements, then you will be granted a power that none could dream to attain. A legendary power said to be powerful to overcome the gods. But it comes at a cost."

"A cost? Why do I have a bad feeling the consequence is really bad?" Ichigo asked.

"While this power is said to be incredible, the power itself is too severe and can be uncontrollable. Just like Nature of Destruction, this power can drain your life force, or worse, it could cost you your life."

"No way…it's that dangerous?" Rin asked to which Tilith responded by nodding her head.

"Let me guess. Vargas and the others went through with it didn't they?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. From what I know, they were well aware of the risks, but decided nonetheless to go through with it. To them, everything including Grand Gaia itself was important to them. They held so many things that were dear to them, and if it meant their lives, so be it. Vargas, Selena, Lance, Eze, Atro, and Magress combined the power of their elements with each other and they gained powers that not even the fallen gods were a match for. In their final moments, they gave all of their energy to not only destroy the gods, but to ensure victory, they not only crushed the fallen gods, but they destroyed the Nature of Destruction as well, giving back life to all of Grand Gaia to both humans and gods alike. The war was over, but at a cost of Grand Gaia's most sacred warriors."

"They gave their lives to save the whole world…I can't think of anything these heroes could have done to be much greater." Estelle said with a sad remorse.

"Damn, to lose your life just so the people close can live," Ichigo said while feeling sad for the fate of the Six Heroes. "They really deserved that name, and died as heroes."

"But I'm guessing it doesn't end there, does it?" Cloud asked.

"As soon as the battle ended, the humans and pro-human faction rejoiced and mourned for the loss of the Six Heroes. The people who were close to them were the ones who took it the hardest the most. While everyone was celebrating, Lucius knew that the battle had just begun. He knew that someday, the fallen gods would rise and threaten humanity again, only this time their numbers have dwindled significantly. To make sure that the Six Heroes' sacrifices did not go in vain, he finished what they started and poured all his power into separating the world of humanity, or Grand Gaia, and the world of the gods from The Gate."

"The Gate?" Sora asked. It was then something struck his head, "Wait, I remember! When I was Vargas and I defeated the goblin, I used the Brave Evolver and it sealed him back to The Gate."

"Just what is The Gate?" Toma asked.

"The Gate is a trans dimensional gate that links the world of humanity and the gods. However, Lucius poured all of his power into severing the gate, so the gods wouldn't be threat. But by doing that, he lost tremendous amounts of his power and is left in a powerless state."

"So that's why he called us. He's too powerless to oppose the fallen," Sora said. "But, why did he choose us, and how did the souls of the Six Heroes survive?"

"It wasn't Lucius' decision alone. It was the Six Heroes who decided to choose each and every one of you. As for the souls of the Six Heroes, Lucius sensed that their souls were still intact. How or why I don't know, but Lucius decided to save them. He couldn't give them back their lives, but he managed to keep their souls intact and bounded them to their hometowns in hopes of the future."

"So the reason we found Vargas's soul was because Agni was his home?" Rin asked to which Tilith nodded her head.

"Oh right, about your Brave Evolver Sora. Just so you know that Brave Evolver is the result of your crystal being intact with a soul of a member of the Six Heroes. As you already know, that device allows you to become Vargas and that it allows you to seal and creature or lost soul back to The Gate. But what you don't know is that the Brave Evolver allows you to form a contract with lost souls."

"A contract?" Sora asked.

"On your adventure, you will encounter many enemies. Some of these enemies are souls of heroes that fought for Grand Gaia during the war of the gods. The Brave Evolver will send a soul like the goblin back to the gate, but there will be chances where the soul will ask you for a contract. As for the contract, that lost soul will be absorbed into your Brave Evolver, meaning you will gain a new ally."

"Wow, that's so cool. So it's like summoning, but simpler." Sora said with enthusiasm.

"Yes, but getting a contract won't be easy."Tilith said.

"You lucky bastard," Rin said with jealousy. He then turned to Tilith and asked, "So, will we gain this power too?"

"Yes you all will. But the souls of the other five heroes you will have to find," Tilith said while pulling out an ancient book and a map. "This is a book that will give you information on different heroes should you encounter any, while the map will help guide you to the other five heroes."

She handed the items to Estelle who took the items with glee.

"Well…I guess that's all I can say. Sorry if you all are bored to death. I just hope this helped give you some information."

"You bet it did," Sora said while tightening his fists. "If Maxwell is hell bent on destroying all of Grand Gaia, then there's no way I can forgive him and the fallen gods!"

"You're not the only one Sora. I'll stand by your side and take out Maxwell and these fallen gods as well."

"Count me in too. There's no way I'll ever forgive these bastards for what they almost did." Ichigo said.

"Me too! I can't just sit around while others could be suffering!" Estelle said with vigor.

"I'm in all the way! It's time someone put these goddamn assholes in their friggin place!" Rin said with renowned resolve.

"I'm in too. There's no way I'm letting them get away with hurting others that were innocent in the conflict." Toma said.

"You six really are something. I guess this is why the Six Heroes and Lucius choose you all." Tilith said with a smile.

"Tilith, I think we know all that we need to know. Just tell us where we need to head next and-"

Just as Sora was about to finish, a strange glow came from Estelle. The glow just so happened to come from her crystal. It shone bright at first, but then the glow died out. Then the map started to glow with a blue glow. Estelle opened the map, and surprisingly, there were only two locations on the map. One showed an image of an empire in fire. This was no doubt Agni, but then there was another location that showed an image of a kingdom surrounded by water. The others were confused as to what this revelation was.

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say your next destination is the Sama Kingdom." Tilith said.

"The Sama Kingdom?" Cloud asked.

"A beautiful kingdom surrounded by the torrents of water. Its home to Selena, master of water and only Heroine of the Six Heroes. Also, she's the one Estelle has to meet due to her crystal."

"Hang on a second, you mean she's Estelle's Hero? Like how Vargas is my hero?" Sora asked which Tilith confirmed.

"Wow, so we get to go see my hero spirit. I can't wait to meet her!" Estelle said with excitement.

"Well then, I say you guys are set and are ready to face Grand Gaia head on," Tilith said while getting up from her seat. "I wish you all good luck, and if anyone can save Grand Gaia, then it's you six. I need to get going, but don't worry, we'll meet again soon."

With that, Tilith disappeared in the dark depths of the castle corriders. Sora and the group were wondering about what to do next.

"So, we head out to Sama and get another spirit? Good plan if you ask me." Toma said.

Cloud rose from where he stood and said, "Well we better rest up before we leave tomorrow. We can follow the maps directions from there."

"Awesome, but there's one more thing." Sora said.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Any of you guys know where we're gonna sleep?"

The others, save Cloud, were frantic and fell deadpan after realizing what Sora just asked.

"Ah man, this sucks! Just where the hell are we gonna sleep?" Rin asked.

"Will you guys just stay calm." Cloud said which caught everyone's attention.

"Look, while we were running in the castle to get Sora, I notice a couple of rooms. I figure they were bedrooms, and since you mention it, we can sleep there since there's probably enough for each one to have a room."

"Wow, you really are amazing Cloud!" Estelle said with fasicination.

"If you guys want to know where I saw the rooms then follow me." Cloud said.

And with that he walked off with his calm demeanor.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm following him." Sora said with a smile.

"Hey wait for us man!" Rin said with Estelle, Toma, and Ichigo following behind him.

Today was just a stepping stone for the group. But tomorrow would be another challenge, and that would mean Maxwell would be a harder thorn in their path. But with their unity, Grand Gaia may have a chance at survival after all.

**Wow, all this info to take in and it's only just the beginning. Will our heroes get to the Sama Kingdom? Just what surprises are in store for them? Find out next time on Brave Frontier: Heroes of Grand Gaia.**

**Thank you and good-bye.**


End file.
